Fix You
by aldeiah
Summary: Boy meets Girl. Girl hates Boys. Boy has trust issues. Boy and Girl fall in love. OblioXOC fic
1. The Girl Next Door

1 - The Girl Next Door

"I can't believe you have a new neighbor!" Emilia burst into laughter. "How long do you think this one will last?"

"What are you talking about, Emilia? I'm a good neighbor!" Dare said in her thick British accent, "A party-all-night-loud neighbor, but still a good one!" They all laughed – Dare, Emilia, Taye,i and Aubrey.

"So? When is this neighbor of yours going to arrive? I can't wait to tell her horror stories about you," Taye smirked.

"Oh, soon enough."

It's been almost a year since Dare last had a neighbor. She usually drove them crazy with all her late night house parties and they only lasted a maximum of one month.

"You've had all types of neighbors – young couples, old couples, single people, big families, small families. What makes you think this one won't run away from you too?" Taye chuckled when she told her about the newcomer last week.

"Well, my landlady told me she's about my age. Maybe she'd like to come along with me to parties!"

"Ohohoho! We'll see. We have to meet her," Taye laughed some more.

"Cool. Let's all meet her the day she arrives," Dare suggested which is why the four of them are hanging out in her apartment chatting and eating away while waiting for the new neighbor.

"Ugh. My time is valuable and I have to be somewhere soon. When will she arrive?" Aubrey complained.

"I think I hear her coming up the stairs," said Dare and they went outside to look if it really was her.

A petite girl with long dark brown hair and fair skin was carrying a backpack and pulling her suitcase up the stairs. She wore a graphic t-shirt with denim shorts and sneakers. Emilia immediately went over to help her, "Here, let me give you a hand."

"Thanks! Hi, you must be Dare."

"No. That would be me, you super cool neighbor! That over there is Emilia. This is Taye and this is Aubrey. They're my friends."

"MISS Aubrey. Hi, nice to meet you. And you are?" Aubrey extended her hand.

"My name's Gabby, nice to meet you," she shook Aubrey's hand. "So, Emilia, Miss Aubrey, Dare and Taye. Did I get it right?"

"Yup!" Emilia chirped as she put down Gabby's bag.

"I have to ask, Gabby, do you know what you've signed up for?" Aubrey asked.

"What do you mean?" Gabby laughed, "Aside from the nice apartment?"

"You have just got for yourself a party girl for a neighbor complete with sleepless nights, random strangers asking you for tissue paper in the middle of the night, and wasted people littered outside your door, ha!" Taye enumerated.

"It's not THAT bad!" Dare protested.

"You're right, it's worse!"

Gabby laughed, "You guys are funny. I appreciate the concern but I don't mind. It's like a piece of the nightlife right next door."

"Speaking of nightlife, do you like to dance?" Emilia asked.

"I do, actually."

"Cause we know a nice place, not far from here. We hang out there almost every night."

"It's actually owned by the family of the wonderful Miss Aubrey right here," Dare added.

"Thank you. I know, I AM awesome," Emilia snorted at Aubrey's remark but she was ignored. "You're welcome to join us there anytime, when you've grown tired of whatever nightlife Dare has to offer."

"That's so nice of you. I'd love to drop by some time," Gabby smiled.

"Why don't you come with us later! If you're not busy, of course," Emilia suggested.

"That would be great! I'm sure I can find some time after I finish unpacking."

"You can go with Dare, we'll meet you at the club."

"I'll come by at around 6?"

"Okay. See you guys later!" Gabby waved them goodbye and the three girls left the building.

"She seems nice. I like her."

"You like a lot of people, Emilia."

"No, Aubrey, you just dislike more people than you like, that's why you're saying that."

"I choose my friends."

"I hear ya, Emilia. She's nice. And I can't wait to see her drop it like it's hot at the club later!" Taye added.

* * *

><p>"GABBY!" Taye yelled at Dare and Gabby's building. Gabby opened her window and saw Taye and Emilia with a ginger-haired boy in the backseat of a flashy convertible. Miss Aubrey sat in front and the driver of the car was a handsome Latino-looking man. "Hi there!" she greeted.<p>

"We were on the way there, are you and Dare good to go?"

"Uh, no. I checked on Dare a while ago and she's still getting ready."

"Haha, that Dare! She told you she'd pick you up at 6, and it's almost 7!"

"It's okay. You can go on ahead, we'll meet you there," Gabby smiled and they waved at her goodbye. She noticed just now that they were actually a convoy of some sorts. Behind their car was a tall guy wearing a hoodie that partially covered his face, riding on a skateboard. Beside him was a guy in a jacket riding on a motorcycle. "See you there Gabby!" Taye yelled before their car sped off.

* * *

><p>"Knock, knock!" Dare yelled at Gabby's door. The door opened. "Hi," Gabby greeted.<p>

Dare looked at her from head to toe. She was wearing a sleeveless maroon top with black skinny jeans and gladiator sandals. She had on a silver bracelet and a necklace.

Dare was wearing a colorful tube top, denim shorts with pink suspenders, striped stockings with boots and a pair of sunglasses with blinking lights. "Sorry, I'm late. It took forever to find these glasses, but they're cute aren't they?"

"They're awesome!" She poked the frames of Dare's glasses as they lit up. "Um, how do I look? Am I overdressed?"

"No! You look fine! Now let's go!"

The club wasn't far from their apartment, it was only 2 blocks away and it was already quite crowded when they got there. It had a huge neon sign that said "Dance Central". People were all dressed to impress and the place was filled with colorful characters. There were dance crews of all genres and they all mixed and showed off their moves on the dance floor. Dare dragged Gabby to the center and started to dance to the Britney Spears song playing in the background. "It's not really my jam, but oh well," Dare yelled over the noise as she wriggled to the beat.

Gabby observed her and followed suit. Dare was such an energetic dancer. Her steps weren't what you would imagine dancing to such a sexy song but she pulled it off. Soon people started backing off and made a space for the two of them. The crowd cheered Dare on. Gabby wasn't so bad herself and also gained an audience. She couldn't match Dare's energy but she was holding up quite nicely, moving her hips to the music.

Somewhere in the club, Dare's friends where lounging in one of the V.I.P. sections and had a great view of the dance floor. "Is that Dare and Gabby?" Emilia mused.

"Damn! Look at her, she can move!" Taye pointed at Gabby.

"Is that the neighbor?" Mo asked.

"Her name's Gabby. I like her moves." Aubrey answered, "Hm. If I didn't know any better, I'd think she was one of my fans or something."

"Ugh. Because you're such an inspiring person, Aubrey," Emilia said sarcastically.

"I'm jealous! They make me want to hit the dance floor again, let's go guys!" MacCoy sat up and was about to head to the dance floor when Angel stopped him. "Wait, looks like we have a challenger."

Another girl with a mop of curly hair wearing a body-hugging short dress approached the girls and tapped Gabby on the shoulder, "Hey there, newcomer. Think you got what it takes?" And she started krumping to the new song playing – Rude Boy by Rihanna.

"You don't have to Gabby, she's really annoying and just enjoys humiliating people," Dare told her.

"Wow. We'll see who gets humiliated," Gabby stepped forward and body rolled away.

The girls took turns trying to dance each other off. The challenger's moves became more provocative and gained more audience impact. Gabby tried to outdo her with more challenging moves that showcased her flexibility and won the crowd over. It was a tug of war. The challenger spotted a pole nearby and spun around it, one foot on the floor and raised the other near her head. "That's hot!" shouted a bystander. This motivated the challenger and made love to the pole with her obscene dance moves. She rubbed her back against the pole as she sultrily went down and striked a final pose.

Gabby approached the pole and backed up a few steps. "What's the matter? Can't pole dance?" teased her challenger. Gabby ignored her and sprinted towards the pole to gain momentum and pulled herself up to the top of the pole. She hugged the pole with one of legs and held onto it with one arm, and posed with her free arm and leg as she spun around it. Halfway down the pole, she wrapped both legs around the pole and let go of it with her hand. She bent back until her head almost touched the pole and slid down. When her hands finally touched the floor, she somersaulted off the pole and took a bow as the crowd cheered and converged toward her.

Dare hugged her, "Oh my gosh, Gabby! Where did you learn to do that?"

"Uh, I'm self taught," she laughed. "The internet teaches me a lot of things."

Emilia was running towards her to hug her. "You totally showed that witch! Gosh she's annoying!"

"Is she that famous around here?"

"She comes here a lot. She's actually a skankier, evil version of Aubrey with no skill to brag about." They laughed.

"Let's go, Emilia. I think it's time to introduce her to the rest of the crew," Dare pulled both of them towards the V.I.P. lounge.

Gabby was so caught up in her dancing that she never noticed how big the place was. It was shaped like a giant cube and had a mezzanine where the bars and lounges were located. The V.I.P. lounge where they were heading was not exactly on the floor. It sort of had a space of its own, like a single room sticking out of the wall. They climbed up a flight of stairs that lead to the lounge. It had luxuriant purple seating that lined the three sides of the area. It was fenced all around and curtains acted like walls and offered some sort of privacy. In the center was a fine coffee table with drinks and finger food. Dare's friends sat around the table and greeted them.

"So this is Angel, Mo and MacCoy," Dare pointed to each of the boys in the lounge.

"Hola!" "What's up?" "Hullo!" they all greeted at the same time.

"You remember Taye and Aubrey?"

"Of course, she does," Aubrey flipped her hair. "I liked what I saw, Gabby. If you want to improve your dancing, I don't mind teaching you. That's a very generous offer and I suggest you take it."

"You're so nice Miss Aubrey. I can't wait to learn something from you."

"By the way, where's Oblio?" Dare asked.

"I ordered him to get Gabby a drink downstairs," Aubrey replied. "He needed the exercise. There he is right now," she motioned to the foot of the stairs.

Oblio was carrying a tray full of different cocktails and mocktails and struggled to climb up the stairs. "You made him carry the bar up here?" Emilia scoffed at Aubrey. "Well, I wasn't sure what Gabby would like so I asked him to get one of each," she replied.

"I'll help you," Gabby jogged down the stairs and carried 2-3 drinks in each hand, cutting Oblio's load in half. "I'm Gabby by the way," she smiled.

"My name's Oblio," he smiled a faint smile.

Mo elbowed MacCoy beside him, "Did that dude just smile?" he whispered. "No, you're just seeing things, Mo," came the reply.

"Alright, which drink would you like?" Aubrey asked.

"I'll just have water," Gabby replied.

"I'm afraid we don't have water. Would you go and get her some water, Oblio?"

"I-I meant... te-tequila, tequila sunrise for me please."

"Nice choice."

Oblio handed her the drink from his tray and she thanked him. He started placing the drinks on the coffee table.

"I've sat down for too long, let's dance Angel," Aubrey raised her eyebrows at him. "Let's go."

"Ah, yeah! Let's dance guys! Remember that move you wanted to show me, MacCoy?"

"What move?"

Angel got up and dragged MacCoy, "Come on! Show me before you forget." Aubrey dragged Dare, Taye and Emilia with her down the stairs. Mo, Oblio and Gabby were left in the lounge.

"What's the deal, Aubrey?" Taye pulled herself away from Aubrey's firm grasp once they were on the dance floor. "You didn't have to be so pushy."

"Ugh, don't tell me you didn't see how he looked at her when she was dancing," Aubrey rolled her eyes.

"Mo? Looking at Gabby?" MacCoy asked. "No, Oblio!" replied Aubrey.

"Oh, hey. I saw that!" Taye exclaimed.

"You know how he is," Angel added. "Always so passionate about dancing and his bike, but when it comes to chicas... nada!"

"Whale fail!" Dare laughed. "So that's why you wanted us out there! You wanted to give him a little push!"

"More like a shove, a BIG shove!" Emilia made a pushing action with her hands. "You're a genius Aubrey!"

"Did you ever doubt me?" Aubrey fanned herself. "Now we have to get Mo out of there! He's not getting it."

Just in time, Crank Dat started playing. Taye called out, "Hey Mo! It's your jam!"

"Oh hey! I got this, Taye!" Mo got up to leave.

"Hey Oblio, if you want to dance too you can go," Gabby said when he had finished setting down the drinks.

"HEY OBLIO!" Dare shouted from below them. "DON"T LEAVE HER ALONE! SHE MIGHT GET LOST OR SOMETHING!"

"I won't get lost," Gabby laughed. "You can go."

"N-no, I'll stay," and he sat at the farthest corner from where Gabby sat.

"So, you like to dance too?" she tried to start a conversation. He wasn't looking at her and he probably didn't hear her. When he turned to look at her, he realized she must have been talking to him. "I'm sorry?" he shouted to her.

"You like to dance too?" she asked again in a louder voice, competing with the music.

"Yes, I love to dance," he shouted back.

"What type of songs do you like dancing to?"

"What?"

"What type of songs—DO YOU MIND IF I SIT BESIDE YOU?"

"N-No, I don't mind," and she sat beside him.

"I SAID, WHAT TYPE OF SONGS DO YOU DANCE TO?" she was still shouting. Oblio covered his ears and laughed a little, "I can hear you."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I got used to shouting."

"I like dancing to hip-hop and techno songs."

"Like... Benny Benassi songs?"

"Satisfaction?"

"Yeah, I like that song. Push me, and then just touch me til I can get my...," she sang in her best female robot voice. "I'm sorry, that was awful." Oblio smiled.

"Satisfaction," he continued.

"Tenenenenenen... Tenenenenenen... Haha. I should stop, I'm so monotonous," she laughed.

"Maybe a little monotony is not so bad."

"Have you had too much excitement for today? Why would you want monotony?"

"Maybe. Maybe having an everyday routine would help you differentiate a special day from the rest."

"I guess you're right. It does help," she said thoughtfully. "Like today, for example," she turned to look at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I just moved out of my parent's house. I came from a small town where I've spent all of my life in. I love my neighborhood but they're the same people I see every day. But now, living in a different place, encountering different people, it's so exciting!"

"I see."

"Do you think this excitement will die down? Do you think, eventually I'll get used to this place too?"

"It's probable. Until another exciting thing comes along."

Gabby thought for a second. She thought about Dare, one of the most exciting people she has ever met. She thought about her new friends, a group of very different and fun people. She thought about not getting excited to see them anymore. It was hard to imagine.

"Maybe I don't have to wait for exciting things. Maybe I can make them happen," she said finally. "An exciting thing every day."

"Then nothing will be special if it happens every day."

"I don't think so. It doesn't have to be that way. Would you rather have a dull day, 6 days a week just so the 7th day can be special?"

"Maybe I would. I like the idea of routines. It's safe, it's certain. Sometimes different can be scary," he paused thoughtfully. "But when it comes to dancing, somehow, I'm not afraid to be different. I don't know why, but I like it."

"You feel like you can express yourself, is that it?"

"Yes, even if not everyone can understand me. It's one of the few risks that I take because I take pride in my dancing."

"That's good. At least you have something different in your life that is certain... that certainly will not disappoint you, if that makes sense at all."

"It kind of doesn't make sense but I get your point," he smiled his faint smile at her.

She stared at him for a second, "I like your smile. It's barely there but at least I know it's sincere."

"I like yours too."

* * *

><p>They all returned to the lounge, tired from dancing and wanting to rest. They found Oblio and Gabby sitting in a corner talking. When the two finally noticed that they were back, Gabby glanced at her watch. "Oh, I have to go. I have to wake up early tomorrow."<p>

"Why? Where are you going?" asked Emilia.

"It's my first day at work tomorrow, can't be late!" she smiled and waved at all of them goodbye. "Thank you! I had a great time!"

"See you around Gabby!" "Bye!" "See you soon!" "See you later, neighbor!"

Angel sat beside Oblio and wrapped his arm around his shoulder, "So? How was she?" He removed Angel's arm and got up, "I'm gonna dance."

They gossiped about the two of them when he left – how they sat together and how they talked for a long time. Aubrey laughed a little sinister laugh. "What do you think Aubrey?" MacCoy asked.

"Well, he was smiling on the way to the dance floor, that can't be bad."


	2. New Girl

2 – New Girl

Normally, he would have been out of bed and eating breakfast by this time. Instead, Oblio was still lying on his bed wide awake. He kept thinking about the new girl. Normally, his musings and thoughts about life had no place in a club, only dancing and partying were allowed there. Normally, he hated being bossed around by Aubrey but when that girl approached him to help him, he was thankful that he got ordered around. Normally, he never attempted to do anything about getting close to persons he liked, but last night… was different.

He took a deep breath. Yesterday was a special day, now everything was back to normal. No more slowing down of time. No more muting of unnecessary background noise. Last night, it felt like there were only two of them. Now, he was one of the people in the background – just another human being. The dream was over and he accepted that.

He got up and went about his daily routine, occasionally thinking about Gabby. He made himself a simple breakfast and he thought about talking with her. He washed the dishes and he thought about her dancing. He went down to the bike repair shop that he owned and went to work on the bikes all lined-up for repair.

His shop looked like any other repair shop but what people don't know is that he makes more than enough because he is THE "bike repairman to the stars." That title never bothered him because he was passionate about bikes – if anything, it flattered him. But despite the huge salary, he chose to live simply and saved all of the extra money he earned.

He worked on the bikes on autopilot. He had memorized everything about bikes and the things that might be wrong with them, and what might need improvement. This allowed him to keep thinking about the girl – how he wanted to see her again but had no way to contact her.

He spent the day working, stopping only to eat lunch. As he was finishing the repair on a bike, someone rang his buzzer. "Excuse me," a female voice said. "Is Oblio-" He looked up and met eyes with Gabby.

"Hi, it's me Gabby, from last night."

"I-I know. H-hi," he stuttered.

"I got your address from Dare. I got everyone's address from her," she smiled. "I brought you, uh, dinner?" She took out a plastic container from her backpack. "Can I come in?"

"Uh, yes. Sorry, please come in," he gestured inside. "I'm afraid it's not comfortable here in my workshop. My place is upstairs, if you prefer it there."

"Oh, no. I'm okay. I just wanted to give you this," she handed him the container. "It's a vegetarian dish, just in case any of you guys don't eat meat. I hope you like it. It's like a reverse housewarming gift."

"You made it?"

"Yup. B-but I don't know what it's called. I kind of just threw ingredients together. It tastes good though."

"Thank you," he smiled at her.

"Thank you for last night. I enjoyed your company."

"Anytime," was all that he could say. She smiled in reply and they both fell into an awkward silence.

"I should go," she said finally. He wanted to ask for her number. He wanted to talk to her some more but he didn't know what to say next. But then, "Uh, wait. There's this dance contest…"

"Oh, you mean this?" she pulled a flyer out of her backpack and showed it to him. It was about a pair dance contest. "I got it from a guy I passed by on the way here."

"Are you interested?"

"I-I want to… But I don't have a partner."

"How about the two of us?" Now Oblio wanted to praise and punish himself for saying those words. He wanted to ask her but now he felt so vulnerable.

She smiled. "It would be an honor." He felt relieved and smiled.

"Can I have your number?" Gabby handed him her cell phone and he gave her his. He felt somewhat embarrassed that she asked for his number first but at least now he can contact her. "So, we have about a week. Do you think we can pull it off?"

"Of course," he gave a slight nod. "When are you available for practice?"

"I finish working at 5, so I can meet you around this time, 6?"

Oblio tried to take a deep breath as discreetly as possible. "Are you free now?" he asked her. Her eyes widened in response. "I mean, the sooner we start…"

"N-no, yes, of course. Um, maybe I can give you…" she glanced at her watch. "An hour? Is that okay? But after I finish delivering the rest of the gifts. Just 3 more."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"It's okay. I can manage. You might be a little busy here. Where do we meet up later?"

"Where is your last stop?"

"Angel's place."

"There's a coffee shop across his place. I'll meet you there."

* * *

><p>"Gracias, Gabby," Angel smiled. He was such an obviously good-looking and charming man. She bet he was such a beautiful dancer too. She though to herself, why of all people…<p>

ding dong, ding dong

"Meeting someone, Chiquita?" She read the text message – I'm here.

"I-It's Oblio. I have to go. See you." Angel waved her good bye and she ran off to the coffee shop across the street. Oblio was standing at the door. Angel yelled after them, "Take care, the two of you!" Oblio waved at him.

"Do we go inside?"

"No, I'll show you the place where we'll rehearse first."

They walked a few blocks towards the direction of Oblio's place. Five buildings from his house was a gym. A muscular man greeted them as they entered, "Hey Oblio! Hi miss!" Gabby nodded, Oblio smiled at the man.

"That's Steve, he owns this place," he told her as they entered a door at the far end of the gym. The sign on the door read "Restricted Area." Oblio turned on the light switch and they climbed a flight of stairs towards a locked door. He fished out the keys from his pocket and opened the door.

It was dark and smelled woody inside but not old. He turned on the light and it revealed a dance studio.

"Wow, so you're good friends with the owner, huh?"

"Yes."

"That's why he lets you use this place."

"This dance studio… I bought it."

"Really? Wow! That's so cool!" She walked around and examined the square room. It had full-wall mirrors on two consecutive sides. The floors had been refurbished and were smooth. The walls with no mirrors we're painted blue, almost the same shade as Oblio's hair. In one corner of the room was a CD player. "This is so awesome!"

Gabby walked towards the player. "So, what song do you wanna dance?"

"I was thinking something like a medley or remix of hip hop songs."

"Oh hey, Daft Punk! Daft Punk's good. Let's use Technologic."

"I like that song. I have some other songs here," he plugged his mp3 player into the player. He played his playlist of hip hop songs with heavy beats mixed with electro songs. They both picked out the ones they thought worked together for a remix. They talked about their music, and then favourite artists, hobbies…

"So you like riding bikes?"

"Yes, it's… Exhilarating."

She laughed. "I can't pronounce that word right. Say it again for me."

"Ex. Hi. La. Ra. Ting." He said it really slowly and they both laughed.

…and food.

"Do you cook a lot?"

"Yeah, I enjoy it very much."

"Then I look forward to eating your dish," he made a bowing gesture. She laughed and curtsied back. "I hope you find it to your liking."

"Speaking of food, have you had dinner?" Now, he thought to himself, he wasn't asking her out… yet. It was what seemed natural to ask. He was also genuinely concerned. He tried to rationalize with himself and realized he was thinking too much again.

"Dinner? Oh… Yes! I've had dinner!" she glanced at her watch again. It was already 8 in the evening and she had spent an hour with him already. "And so should you. Have dinner, I mean. I-I have to go home."

"Oh. Alright. I should go too and start editing the songs. See you tomorrow?"

"I'll drop by your place at 6?"

"6 is okay."

She smiled and held his gaze for some time before hurrying out the door. "Sorry, I really have to go. I'll see you tomorrow!"

* * *

><p>"HELLO? Sorry I can't hear you!" the voice shouted over the loud party music in the background.<p>

"Dare, it's me! Oblio!"

"What? Potato?" She carried her cordless phone outside of her apartment where it was quiet. "Who is this again?"

"It's Oblio."

"Oh hey! What's up?"

"Is Gabby home?"

"Hey! Why don't you ask her yourself?" Dare laughed.

"No, no. I just wanted to check."

"All right, all right. You stalker!" Dare laughed some more. She knocked on Gabby's apartment door, no answer. "No, she's not home."

"Are you sure?"

"Wait a second." She went downstairs to talk to her landlady. "Has Gabby come home yet?" he heard over the phone. "No, she hasn't come back since she left this afternoon."

"Nope, Oblio. She hasn't arrived yet."

"Okay. Thank you, Dare." He looked at the clock. It was almost midnight. He got himself a glass of water. He needed to relax. Maybe Dare was right – he was becoming a stalker asking about her whereabouts. Gabby just seemed jumpy and suspicious a while ago. Or maybe he just imagined it. Her whereabouts are none of his business, he told himself.

"Calm down, Oblio. You'll see her tomorrow." And he retired to bed but he tossed and turned in his bed for an hour before he finally slept.

* * *

><p>"Oblio." He looked up from the bike and saw Gabby waving at him. He felt the usual excitement and happiness he experienced whenever he saw her but it was overshadowed by relief. "Gabby," he smiled at her.<p>

He wiped the grease from his hands and the sweat on his face. "I'll be ready in a while." He jogged up the stairs and traded his dirty white shirt for an army green shirt. He put on a black leather jacket and grabbed his body bag. "Let's go."

Upon arriving at the studio, Oblio played the remix he had made for their routine. "What do you think?"

"Wow, that's awesome! I love it. You're a good DJ."

"Thank you," he gestured to the floor. "Let's get to work."

They spent the next hour choreographing. Oblio described the way he wanted the moves to feel at different times of the music while Gabby tried her best to give her rough interpretation through dance moves. Oblio tweaked the moves here and there until he thought it was perfect. They were a good choreography team.

The next hour, they practiced their whole routine. When it comes to execution, Oblio was flawless. He had mastered his technique through years of dancing. Gabby, on the other hand, had less dancing experience. She can dance and her flexibility is a major advantage but she struggles quite a bit with Oblio's choreography. She picks up choreography fast but they might take a little more time perfecting the execution.

But whatever she lacked in dancing skill, she made up with her partnering skills. Synchronization was not a problem for them. She watches Oblio move first and then adapts to his rhythm and they move as one.

They took a break from dancing and sat down next to the music player. They discussed their progress for the day.

"It's good that you're a fast learner," Oblio remarked.

"Thank you but I think I mess up your choreography. I don't do it right."

"It's okay. We'll work on it." He took a plastic container from his bag and handed it to her. "Here's your container. It was delicious. It was as appealing to the eyes as it was fulfilling to the stomach and invigorating for the taste buds."

She laughed. "Thank you, I'm flattered." She gazed at him as she reached for her container. He smiled faintly at her and she smiled back. When she finally snapped out of it she glanced at her watch. "I have to go."

"Now? You have an appointment somewhere?" He felt he was being nosy but he couldn't help but ask.

"I'm meeting a friend. I'm sorry. I'll work hard tomorrow, I promise." And she left.

* * *

><p>"Dare? It's Oblio," he introduced when he heard her leave her noisy apartment.<p>

"Checking on her again?"

"I'm sorry. I'm just, uh, concerned."

"It's all right. You don't have to explain yourself. But she's not home right-" She suddenly stopped talking.

Oblio overheard footsteps, like people going up the stairs. "Dare?" No answer. He heard a door slam. "Dare?"

"Oh, hey. She's not home. Sorry. I was, uh, feeling a bit dizzy. See you!" she hanged up.


End file.
